Gertrude Berg | |
|---|---|
 Berg as Molly Goldberg in 1951 | |
| Born | Tillie Edelstein (1899-10-03)October 3, 1899 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | September 14, 1966(1966-09-14) (aged 66) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1929–1961 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Gertrude Berg (bornTillie Edelstein;[1] October 3, 1899 – September 14, 1966) was an American actress, screenwriter, and producer. A pioneer of classicradio, she was one of the first women to create, write, produce, and star in a long-running hit when she premiered her serial comedy-dramaThe Rise of the Goldbergs (1929), later known asThe Goldbergs. Her career achievements included winning aTony Award and anEmmy Award, both for Best Lead Actress.
Berg was born Tillie Edelstein in 1899 in theEast Harlem neighborhood ofManhattan, New York City, to Jacob and Dinah Edelstein, natives of Russia and England, respectively. Berg's chronically unstable mother Dinah, grieving over the death of her young son, experienced a series of nervous breakdowns and later died in a sanitarium.[1]
Tillie, who lived with her family onLexington Avenue,[1] married Lewis Berg in 1918; they had two children, Cherney (1922–2003) and Harriet (1926–2003). She learned theater while producing skits at her father'sCatskills Mountains resort inFleischmanns, New York.[2][3]
After a fire burned down the sugar factory where her husband was employed, she worked on a semi-autobiographical skit that she hoped to develop into a radio program. It portrayed a Jewish family in aBronx tenement. Though her household had a typewriter, Berg wrote the script by hand, taking the handwritten pages to a long-awaited appointment atNBC. When the executive she met with protested that he could not read her writing, she read the script aloud to him. Her performance not only sold the idea for the radio program, but also landed her the role as lead actress. She continued to write the scripts in pencil for as long as the program was on the air.[2]
On November 20, 1929, a 15-minute episode ofThe Rise of the Goldbergs was first broadcast on the NBC radio network. She started at US$75 a week. Less than two years later, in the heart of theGreat Depression, she let the sponsor propose a salary and was told, "Mrs. Berg, we can't pay a cent over $2,000 a week."[4] Berg's husband, Lewis—who became a successful consulting engineer, though his job loss prompted her to write the initial radio script—refused to be photographed with his wife for publicity purposes, as he felt this was infringing on her success.[2]
Berg became inextricably identified asMolly Goldberg, the big-hearted matriarch of her fictional Bronx family who moved toConnecticut as a symbol ofupward mobility of American Jews. As Berg stated in her autobiography, she chose to depict her Jewish grandfather's worship in her initial radio broadcast show. She wrote nearly all of the radio episodes (more than 5,000) plus aBroadway adaptation,Me and Molly (1948). The Goldberg family struggles, and the portrayal of first-generation immigrants seeking to assimilate into American life, were relatable to many in the radio audience. Radio seemed to produce a common place to tie patriotism and families together. The program's success was largely because of the familiar feelings the scripts evoked in the American people. The scripts from the first season were later published in book form.[5]
It took considerable convincing, but Berg finally prevailed uponCBS to let her bringThe Goldbergs to television in 1949. It has since been credited with being the first TVsitcom.[6] Early episodes portrayed the Goldberg family openly struggling to adapt to American life. Her characters Molly, Jake, Sammy and Rosie lived out the day-to-day stories of Jewish immigrants.[5] In 1951, Berg won the first everEmmy Award for Lead Actress in a Television Series in her twentieth year of playing the role. The show would stay in production for five more years.
The Goldbergs ran into political trouble in 1950 during theMcCarthy Era. Co-starPhilip Loeb (Molly's husband, patriarch Jake Goldberg) was one of the performers named inRed Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television, which resulted in his beingblacklisted. The program's chief sponsor,General Foods, insisted that Loeb must be fired. Berg stuck by Loeb and resisted sponsor and network pressure for a year and a half.[6] With Loeb still in the cast in 1951, General Foods cancelled its sponsorship, as didSanka; CBS executives droppedThe Goldbergs from their schedule in June 1951. The program was then picked up byNBC.[7] In January 1952, Loeb resigned rather than cause Berg further problems.[8][9]
Following the Loeb controversy,The Goldbergs continued on television until 1954, after which Berg also wrote and produced a syndicated film version. The show remained in syndicated reruns for another few years, after one year of production and 39 episodes (it aired on some stations asMolly). A new version of the series is currently seen on the Jewish Life Television (JLTV) cable network.
Berg made guest appearances on television in the 1950s and early 1960s. She appeared onThe Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, on a February 1958 episode ofThe Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford, and was the "mystery guest'" on the seriesWhat's My Line? in 1954, 1960, and 1961.[10] In 1961, she made a last stab at television success in theFour Star Television situation comedy,Mrs. G. Goes to College (retitledThe Gertrude Berg Show at midseason), playing a 62-year-old widow who enrolls in college. The series was cancelled after one season.
Berg continued working in theatre through these years. In 1959, she won theTony Award for Best Actress for her performance inA Majority of One. In 1961, she won theSarah Siddons Award for her work inChicago theater. She also published a best-selling memoir,Molly and Me, in 1961.[11]
In 1965 she released an album,How To Be a Jewish Mother, under the label Amy. The album peaked at No. 131 on theBillboard Top LPs, during a twelve-week stay on the chart.[12]
Berg died of heart failure on September 14, 1966, aged 66, at Doctors Hospital inManhattan.[13] She is buried at Clovesville Cemetery inFleischmanns, New York.
A biography of Berg,Something on My Own: Gertrude Berg and American Broadcasting, 1929–1956, by Glenn D. Smith, Jr. (Syracuse University Press) appeared in 2007.Aviva Kempner's 2009 documentary,Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg, deals with Berg's career, and, to an extent, her personal life.[14]
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